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Delhi 'racism' in focus after assault

Two Manipuri women allege they were beaten up by some men, amid outcry over death of youth from India's northeast.

03 Feb 2014 08:29 GMT

Nido Tania's death prompted protests by students from India's northeast [EPA]

Delhi police have arrested a man in Kotla Mubarakpur area of South Delhi for allegedly beating and abusing two women from the northeastern Indian state of Manipur.

This is the second incident of violence against people from India's northeast in the last few days.

“This tells a lot about the way police treat cases of persecution against people of the northeast”, 25-year-old Tharmila Jajo, one of the assaulted women was quoted as saying in The Indian Express.

Reports say the arrested man has been charged with molestation and for causing hurt, and that a case under Prevention of Atrocities against minorities has been added to the complaint.

The two young women had complained to the police on January 24 of being beaten and molested by residents of the locality. “No action was taken until members of the northeast association called up the police to register an FIR”, Phungreingam Jajo, a friend of the women who was also beaten up by residents, told reporters.

On the day of the incident a man walking his dog in the South Delhi residential area had let it loose. The dog had rushed to the women and the leash got tangled around one of the women’s feet. When the woman tried to free herself the dog’s owner and others had allegedly beaten them up and hurled derogatory remarks at them.

Rajan Bhagat, Delhi police spokesperson denied it was a hate crime.

The assault on the Manipuri women and their complaint comes in the wake of growing protests over racial discrimination against people of the northeast states following the death of 20-year-old Arunachal Pradesh’s Nido Tania on January 30 in Delhi.

Opposition party prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi accused the ruling government of eroding the profile of India’s capital Delhi “as a global city” following such incidents of racist violence.